Over the past few months, we've all been focused on getting through the pandemic healthy and safe. If you're a small business owner, you've also been trying to survive and thrive-whether that's creating or updating an eCommerce website, selling a new product that's in-demand or offering delivery or pickup options to customers.
The pandemic has forever changed some of the ways we approach and market to customers. Are you keeping up with this new economy or will you be left behind?
This week, I'm sharing some ways to improve website content to help you move forward from COVID-19 crisis mode into recovery mode-and beyond.
Here's 5 things to focus on to help improve your website content:
1. Keep being empathetic.
Empathetic marketing is essential if you want to reach your customers in an authentic way.
According to this ongoing study, 76% of people have picked up new habits, behaviours and routines during COVID-19. And of those respondents, 89% said they plan on keeping at least some of their new habits.
Put yourself in your customers' shoes. Be kind and understand the emotional level your client is at right now.
Whether you're writing resourceful blogs to help people use your products or offering extra customer service support to answer questions quickly, provide valuable content and support that is the most relevant to your target audience.
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READ: "The Importance of Empathy-Based Marketing", on our website:
When I say the word "empathy," what do you associate it with? Kindness to a family member going through a hard time? Supporting your partner when they've had a bad day? Or, does a business-related example come to mind?
I'm going to guess that many people don't associate "empathy" with buying or selling. Unfortunately, many brands don't either!
But as we move forward from COVID-19, empathy-based marketing isn't just the right thing to do, your customers now expect it.
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2. Revisit your SEO strategy.
It's important to think of SEO as an ongoing opportunity, and as we emerge from sheltering at home, it's time to take another look at it. From the keywords you're targeting to your meta data, are you reaching your potential customers in the most effective ways?
It comes as no surprise that organic searches for health-related keywords are on the increase. Also on the upswing are online fitness classes like Daily Burn, a video workout class provider. Data shows its traffic has increased 310%, as quarantined people look for ways to work out at home.
To choose any new keywords, think of the questions people are going to be asking. For example:
Do you offer no-contact delivery?
What hours are you open?
Is curbside pickup available?
We pivoted a client's SEO strategy to virtual offerings. Kim Mittelstadt of Blend Image & Style decided to shut down her in-store location due to the COVID-19 crisis and instead, provide online makeover services. As a result, we added more keywords related to her virtual services, expanding her brand reach to a more global audience.
By using the right keywords in your site content, you can make your website unique and increase relevant traffic.
3. Refresh your photos.
As part of your empathetic marketing strategy, you should also do a sweep of your photos. If you've switched most of your services to virtual, for example, having a crowd of people at a conference won't send the right message.
One of our clients, The Young Actors' Theatre Camp, who has offered in-person theatre camps for youth for the past 19 years had to quickly put up a landing page depicting their virtual camp offerings this summer.
Similarly, if you originally changed your site copy to reflect virtual services and are now seeing clients in-person again, you might want to replace those photos with imagery that shows you interacting with clients in your store, for example.
4. Dive into your data.
One of the best ways to get website improvement ideas is by finding out what your visitors like and don't like is by closely examining your data. By looking at Google Analytics, you can see how visitor behaviour influences your stats.
You'll be able to see things like how long people are spending on your site overall plus on particular pages, where your traffic is coming from (for example, a referral from Facebook or someone typing in a keyword you rank for) and which content is the most (and least) popular.
Hiring a boutique marketing agency is an ideal way for personalized attention plus gain the deepest insights into your data, which allows you to serve your customers better.
5. Educate your audience.
One of the best ways to improve your business website is by offering people timely answers to their questions. And I'm not just talking about your marketing materials like your blog or sales pages.
Having a dedicated FAQ page that provides people with the answers they're seeking is a good idea.
For example, WorkSafeBC has created an in-depth resource that supports workers and employers who have questions and concerns about returning to the workplace following self-isolation.
Remember, it's not just going to go back to business as usual-especially as we venture out into local restaurants, pubs, salons and retail stores. People are going to be concerned about their health and safety, and the more you can put them at ease, the more successful you'll be.
Like anything, proper planning as we emerge from the pandemic is critical to your business success.
Communicate often and honestly with your customers, look at ways to continuously improve your website content and make sure you're using empathy-based marketing.
I hope you implement these strategies as soon as possible to best position your business as we come out of this crisis. This is your opportunity to move forward as a successful small business owner, and these website improvement ideas can definitely help.
Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.
As a result of working with Susan and her team, clients feel confident and relieved knowing their online marketing is in trustworthy and caring hands so they can focus on building their business with peace of mind at having a perfect support system in place to guide them every step of the way.